NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, September 28

(The worm is such an innately funny dance move. How could anyone think it looks cool?)

Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a fantastic weekend so far.

I think I’m going to try something a bit different on Forbes this week, because I don’t clearly work enough these days. I’m thinking about putting together a secondary Connections post each day to explain how the groups fit together. Maybe we can even get a little discussion about each game going in the comments section there too?

I feel like I don’t always spell out super clearly how the groups fit together in my little explanation/thought process section of the main column. Given that a ton of people from around the world play Connections every day and they may not be familiar with certain idioms or cultural references, I feel like it would be a helpful thing to have.

Also, to be honest, my readership at Forbes has dropped quite a bit over the last few months. The same thing is happening for other writers and at other publications, largely for completely mysterious reasons. So, I’m definitely not alone there.

The vast majority of the income I make from Forbes comes from my readership numbers, so I’ve taken a hit in the pocket lately. To be clear, I’m doing completely fine. I’m able to cover all of my expenses and put money aside for a rainy day and my future without any issue right now.

But I would like to get those numbers back up a bit, and I think a supplementary daily article in which I write about something I enjoy very much would help. It could be fun too!

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, September 28 are coming right up.

What Are Today’s Connections Hints?

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

• TRIDENT

• BUFFALO

• WORM

• LIGHTNING BOLT

• TROJAN HORSE

• EXTRA

• HORSESHOE

• AEGIS

• FLEUR-DE-LIS

• BACKDOOR

• SHIELD

• ORBIT

• GUARD

• ICE BREAKERS

• VIRUS

• PROTECTION

And the level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — got your back

• 🟩 Green group — the last thing you want on your computer

• 🟦 Blue group — these will inevitably get you into a sticky situation

• 🟪 Purple group — field features on fall Sundays

One Word For Each Connections Group

Need some extra help? 

Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

• 🟨 Yellow group — AEGIS

• 🟩 Green group — TROJAN HORSE

• 🟦 Blue group — TRIDENT

• 🟪 Purple group — HORSESHOE

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — backing

• 🟩 Green group — malicious software

• 🟦 Blue group — gum brands

• 🟪 Purple group — NFL team logos

What Are Today’s Connections Answers?

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — backing (AEGIS, GUARD, PROTECTION, SHIELD)

• 🟩 Green group — malicious software (BACKDOOR, TROJAN HORSE, VIRUS, WORM)

• 🟦 Blue group — gum brands (EXTRA, ICE BREAKERS, ORBIT, TRIDENT)

• 🟪 Purple group — NFL team logos (BUFFALO, FLEUR-DE-LIS, HORSESHOE, LIGHTNING BOLT)

After getting back into Connections Sports Edition recently (and starting up a hints column for that again at Forbes dot com), I was pretty sure right away that there would be a group of NFL team logos. The FLEUR-DE-LIS (New Orleans Saints) was a giveaway for me there. HORSESHOE (Indianapolis Colts) and BUFFALO (Buffalo Bills) were certain inclusions.

I wasn't sure which team had a LIGHTNING BOLT logo, but it made more sense with this group than SHIELD or TROJAN HORSE. As it turns out, that's the logo of the Los Angeles Chargers. And that was the purple group. I thought they'd be the blues!

The malware group was up next. I write about stuff like this on occasion, so that was no problem. After that, I got the types of gum, then the yellows for the win.

A slightly more difficult game of Connections than we're perhaps used to lately, but I enjoyed it. That perfect game extends my overall streak to 212 wins. Here's my grid for today:

🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. I’ll be back over at Forbes for the Monday-Friday editions for the column. And if you haven’t subscribed to Pastimes already, definitely do that! It would be super sweet of you.

P.S. I recently played a neat video game that I found very relaxing. In Herdling, you play as a young girl who rounds up a group of loveable beasts called Calicorns and guides them up a magical, mysterious mountain path.

There are threats and dangers along the way, but you can disable those in the settings so that there’s no risk of losing any of your creatures. Even though there are still a few hairy moments, I found this to be quite a calming game.

It’s shortish at a few hours long. You can check out Herdling on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, or buy it on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo Switch:

A behind-the-scenes documentary dropped last week as well. I haven’t watched it yet, but I plan to soon:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

On weekdays, you can find this column over at Forbes. Please follow my blog there for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot!

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